By Elena Pliego
In Kabul, Afghanistan, there is a basement full of teenage girls who are passionate for an education. Women in Afghanistan, under the Taliban government, have little to no freedom and they are denied their basic human rights. This has been going on for the past 5 years, and everyone should know about it. The way women are treated in this country is terrible, and girls are not allowed to pursue education past 12 years old.
These specific students range from 14 to 16 years old, and they were looking for a way to show the world the conditions that they have to live in as young girls. Since they aren’t allowed to go to school, this group of Afghan citizens have decided to risk their lives to illegally study an education past the 6th grade. These girls dress very conservative, carry as little as possible, and develop excuses in case they get stopped by the police.
These brave girls are genuinely terrified for their lives, but they continue to fight against the oppression of Afghan women. “We are afraid of the Taliban,” one of the girls says. The Taliban insists that the situation is not as bad as it seems, but the same authorities are denying women freedom without a male chaperon in the 21st century.
A 25 year old woman who earned a degree was able to pursue a higher education is the person who is teaching these young girls. She says, “I don’t want these girls to be uneducated and illiterate like women 20 years ago.” We have gone through so much development as humans throughout history, and hearing that there are people out there who are denied their right as a human is mind blowing.
